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Saturday, June 2, 2018

If you’ll be attending JCK’s annual LUXURY show in Las Vegas for the first time, you’re in for something special! A plush, intimate setting; row upon row of the finest, glittering jewels; exclusive events. There’s a lot of goodness to take in and we’re excited for you to experience it.

If you’re a LUXURY veteran, you’re in for a treat, too! New for 2018 is a number of curated neighborhoods within LUXURY, all designed to bring you a wide array of styles from around the globe. You’ll be enamored with this stellar collection of spectacular jewelers in our Design@LUXURY pavilion to the first Greek Jewels @ LUXURY. Add the new brands and designers showcasing within the main LUXURY show, and you’re sure to enjoy unparalleled access to fresh finds.

I have a tradition of visiting the same jeweler first every year at LUXURY. I see it as my personal celebratory welcome to Las Vegas. (I love to check in with the people and ogle their amazing jewelry.)

This was written by the PR Reps for JCKEvents but I have the same tradition...my "Must See First" is V'tse (#LUXURYbyJCK #403) - she loves the cool and rare, but mostly because... she "RespectsTheGem":

PHOTOS: VIA V'TSE INSTAGRAM

PHOTOS: VIA V'TSE INSTAGRAM

PHOTOS: VIA V'TSE INSTAGRAM

But after that? So many options! And now there are even more to tempt me—and you! That’s a good problem to have.

So whether you’re a first-timer at LUXURY—or you’re coming back for your second, fifth, or tenth time—there’s something new and wonderful waiting for you. Here’s an exclusive preview.

I am using the JCKEvents Press Release but the Brands represented are my personal favorites...and the intro to a few of "The NEW"!

Siera Jewelry Inc.

At Siera, variety is the spice of life. Innovative, sophisticated, Siera offers a vast selection of merchandise that stands apart from other jewelry...

Wednesday, May 30, 2018

from Press Release...

GOOGLE REQUIREMENTS FOR SEO PERFORMANCE MORE STRICT THAN EVER

VDB App Enables Retail Jewelers to Compete in Rapidly Evolving Online Marketplace by White Labeling the Powerful VDB App as Their Own

To compete for today’s consumer footfalls, retailers must pay more attention to search than ever before. Mobile First technology is an important key to online success.

Retail jewelers are hyper-aware that footfalls are down and consumer attention is won and lost online. The good news is that retail sales dollars are up – but only for retailers who manage to entice consumers to enter their stores. Virtual Diamond Boutique (VDB) has continued to develop its online tools for retail jewelers and will demonstrate a suite of applications that meets every SEO and UX (user experience) best practice during JCK Las Vegas.

One of Google’s most important (and least understood) requirements today is that online experiences must be designed as Mobile First applications. Until recently, “desktop first” was the standard in online experience development. But as smart devices now account for over 74% of online activity, experiences designed with the mobile user in mind have become the priority. Businesses cannot achieve high search engine results if their online presence is not Mobile First.

Tanya Nisguretsky, CEO of Virtual Diamond Boutique, said, “We’ve spent years in research and development to create a mobile-first experience that is user-friendly, highly interactive, and visually appealing. We knew that it was imperative to get the jewelry-buying experience onto smartphones and tablets in a native manner.”

In fact, the VDB platform is the jewelry industry’s only Mobile First platform. Until very recently, this was an interesting differentiator, but not a strategic one. However, Google began giving preference to mobile versions of websites starting in 2016, when they began down-grading sites that had a weak mobile experience. And in 2018, Google has dramatically increased the pressure to use mobile technology, as they are now actively indexing the mobile versions of websites instead of desktop versions. Considering that Google represents over 85% of search activity, meeting Google's requirements is essential to reaching consumers.

Retailers who want to ensure they maintain (or develop) strong Google ranking scores can now use the VDB App as a branded application. ”Almost from the minute they first saw it, our clients have asked for a white label version so they could use it as their branded store app,” says Tanya. “So we’re very excited to announce you can now personalize the VDB app with your store logo, colors, and brand information, and offer it right in the App Store. It’s plug and play.”

Today, retail jewelers cannot afford to operate without a powerful web presence, and that web presence must be Mobile First. One way to accomplish this is to rebuild your website using Mobile First technology. Another way to accomplish this is to partner with technology platforms who can get you there faster, cheaper, and with a commitment to ongoing development.

Virtual Diamond Boutique is a global sourcing and selling company in the jewelry industry. They have combined deep jewelry industry knowledge with top technical talent to create jewelry technology by jewelers, for jewelers.

Monday, May 28, 2018

Green diamonds, “Rainbow” Hematite and a full report on the Tucson Trade Shows

Delve into the science of green diamonds, explore “rainbow” hematite and discover how DNA can be used to identify pearls in the Spring 2018 issue of Gems & Gemology (G&G), GIA’s (Gemological Institute of America’s) quarterly professional journal.

The spring issue will also feature the 2018 G&G Challenge, a 25-question multiple-choice quiz based on articles published in 2017–Those who score 100% will be listed in the Fall 2018 issue. The Gem News International section will carry a complete report on the February 2018 Tucson gem and mineral shows, with 24 pages of coverage and photos. G&G’s Spring 2018 issue is available in print by subscription and in the GIA Store, and digitally – at no cost – on GIA.edu.

This issue opens with “Natural-Color Green Diamonds: A Beautiful Conundrum,” the first in a series of articles about fancy-color diamonds. Christopher M. Breeding, Sally Eaton-Magaña and James E. Shigley compiled data representative of more than 9,000 samples to offer a look at natural green diamonds that has never before been possible. These diamonds are colored either by simple structural defects produced by radiation exposure or by more complex defects involving nitrogen, hydrogen or nickel impurities. Laboratory irradiation treatments closely mimic the effects of natural radiation exposure, causing tremendous difficulty in gemological identification – a challenge that the three GIA research scientists address in this article.

Additional highlightsinclude a recent lab note by Sally Eaton-Magaña on five CVD synthetic diamonds larger than three carats and beautiful photomicrographs in the Micro-World section of an opal with agate-like banding.

This and every issue of G&G since 1934, including full articles, lab notes, photo galleries and exclusive video footage, are available at no cost on GIA’s website at https://www.gia.edu/gems-gemology.

Print subscriptions and copies of back issues are available at http://store.gia.edu, or by contacting G&G customer service at +1 760-603-4502. There is a $10 discount on subscription renewals – domestic and international – and a 50% lower rate for recent back issues – all back issues now cost $15.

About GIA

An independent nonprofit organization, GIA (Gemological Institute of America), established in 1931, is recognized as the world’s foremost authority in gemology. GIA invented the famous 4Cs of Color, Clarity, Cut and Carat Weight and, in 1953, created the International Diamond Grading System™ which is recognized around the world as the standard for diamond quality.

Through research, education, gemological laboratory services and instrument development, the Institute is dedicated to ensuring the public trust in gems and jewelry by upholding the highest standards of integrity, academics, science and professionalism. Visit GIA.edu.

Emerald Expositions Announces the Launch of American Handcrafted™The Newest, Must-Attend Trade Show for North American Handmade Products

Emerald Expositions is pleased to announce that in September of 2018, they are launching a rebranding campaign for the widely respected ACRE™ shows, which will include a change of name to American Handcrafted™. The ACRE™ shows have long represented original, creative and quality products handmade in North America, and the new name, which will be launched with American Handcrafted™ Orlando, September 6-8, 2018, provides the community, as well as existing and prospective retail buyers, with both clarity and distinction.“It is very important to us to keep our core audience in mind throughout this re-branding process,” noted Allison Garafalo, Show Director. “Buying handmade is becoming an increasingly important factor among consumers, and we’d like to expand our horizons by bringing veteran artists together with up-and-coming makers to showcase the best handmade products crafted in the U.S. and Canada. We feel the new name, and the new direction of our overall branding, speaks to that, and will serve to draw an increased number of buyers who are interested in this important retail category.”American Handcrafted™ Orlando will feature a juried selection of North American artists representing a mix of all media and product categories in a region that is traditionally very successful for the handmade industry. The show will also feature on-site demonstrations, seminars, social media events and networking opportunities that will result in a creative and innovative environment for makers and buyers. The September timing of American Handcrafted™ Orlando allows for sufficient time to fill orders for the holiday selling season, and the show will be co-located with SURF Expo, which is a destination show for resort buyers on the east coast.

The February 2018 ACRE™ event, which was held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, February 17-19, was the last featuring the former name and branding, before transitioning to American Handcrafted™ Philadelphia in 2019. Also in 2019, ACRE™ Las Vegas will become American Handcrafted™ Las Vegas.About American Handcrafted™American Handcrafted events focus on artisan craftsmanship and design showcasing established artists representing all mediums along with new and upcoming makers from the contemporary maker movement. American Handcrafted Orlando will be the first event to take place in 2018 under the new branding and will take place September 6-8, 2018 at the Orlando Convention Center. Attendees including art & fine craft galleries, modern gift & home stores, independent retailers, art institutions, e-retailers, national retail chains, and museums are expected to attend.

American Handcrafted is owned by Emerald Expositions, the largest operator of business-to-business trade shows in the United States, with most of our shows dating back several decades. We currently operate more than 50 trade shows, including 31 of the top 250 trade shows in the country as ranked by TSNN, as well as numerous other events. Our events connect over 500,000 global attendees and exhibitors and occupy more than 6.9 million NSF of exhibition space. We have been recognized with many awards and accolades that reflect our industry leadership as well as the importance of our shows to the exhibitors and attendees we serve. More information about American Handcrafted Orlando can be found at americanhandcraftedshow.com